Tuesday, November 20, 2012

The Max-Planck Summer Academy for Legal History

Max-Planck-Institut für Europaeische Rechtsgeschichte announces the Max-Planck Summer Academy for Legal History, to be held July 29 to August 16, 2013:

The Max-Planck Summer Academy for Legal History, offered by the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History (MPIeR), provides an in-depth introduction to methods and principles of research in legal history. Although its main focus is on European legal history, there is special emphasis on global perspectives on legal history. It addresses a selected group on highly motivated early-stage researchers, usually PhD candidates, working on a research project with an interest in the basic research of historical formation and transformations of law and other normative orders.

The academy consists of two modules and lasts three weeks; the first two weeks provide an introduction to the study of sources, methodological principles, as well as theoretical models and controversial research debates on basic research fields of legal history (module 1). During the third week the participants discuss a special research theme and develop their own approach to the theme (module 2).

[The special theme for module 2 is Global Perspectives on Legal History.] Global History, World History, Imperial History, Atlantic or Pacific History: the variety of transnational historiography is growing ever larger still. These global perspectives provide new challenges and opportunities for legal history. In various lectures and workshops during the third week of the summer academy the participants reflect on the different concepts and models of how to approach the global perspectives in legal history. The aim is to raise awareness when employing these perspectives and enabling the participants to critically analyze the discourses on transnational historiographies. A detailed schedule including the lecturers will be available [here.]